


Babysitting Duty

by musicforlife101



Series: Captain Canary Hiatus Fics [7]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Babysitting, Captain Canary, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Helpful Gideon, I posted this after getting off a late flight, Literal Sleeping Together, so I added the tags I forgot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 15:12:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6381424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicforlife101/pseuds/musicforlife101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they save an abandoned baby from freezing to death, Sara and Leonard are forced to babysit until he's healthy enough to be taken to an orphanage.</p>
<p>In which they get very little sleep, are deemed adorable by Kendra, and discover that they might make okay parents one day.</p>
<p>(Very) Late Fill for Captain Canary Hiatus Fest Day 11 - The One With The Baby</p>
            </blockquote>





	Babysitting Duty

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this is so late! It would have been a bit late anyway, but I've been on vacation with no internet or phone and didn't get quite as much writing done as I would have liked. But it's here now! And I'm going to post others in my backlog or anything I run behind on, even after hiatus is over.
> 
> I only own the baby, and all he really does is eat, sleep, and cry.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_Omaha, Nebraska  
_ _November 1951_

Sara knocked out their final attacker with her staff, Leonard covering her with his cold gun aimed at their fleeing adversaries. She turned to him, breath crystallizing in the air between them.

A loud wail pierced the still air behind the warehouse. They both held their weapons ready, splitting up to find the source of the sound. Leonard rounded a dumpster and saw a squirming bundle of cloth on the ground, which seemed to be making the noise. He gently prodded it with the muzzle of his gun. It was soft, not metallic. And it started wailing louder. Sara turned around, hearing the change, and headed toward her teammate.

Leonard holstered his gun and carefully folded back the top layers of cloth.

“Sara.” He knew she was steps away. “It’s a baby.”

She was quick to pick up the baby, holding it close to her chest. It was a frigid night and someone had left the poor thing on the ground, just thrown it away. Once the immediate instinct to pick up the tiny baby and get it warm had passed, she looked down at it in fear. What was she supposed to do with it now? She knew next to nothing about babies. Children, maybe. But this child had to be less than a year old.

“We should take it somewhere,” she suggested. “Maybe a hospital?” Leonard looked over her White Canary suit, then down at his parka and cold gun. “Okay, we can’t take it to a hospital looking like this.”

“Back to the Waverider, then.”

“You should carry it, Len, your coat will keep it warmer.”

“No thanks,” he replied. “Besides, it likes you already.” She felt a tug and realized the baby had a good grip on her hair. She sighed and followed him back toward the ship.

 

* * *

 

Rip burst into the med bay. “What happened this time?” he asked, belatedly noticing that neither of them were sitting in a chair being patched up. Sara stepped back, allowing him a sightline to the baby lying on the chair, swaddled in dirty blankets. “Why is there a baby on my ship?”

Sara and Leonard glanced at each other. She sighed and said, “We found it behind a dumpster when you sent us to that warehouse. It would have died if we’d left it there.” Rip pursed his lips. He was annoyed, but he wouldn’t condemn an infant to death. “We should find the mother, or take it to an orphanage or something.”

“I wish you all would stop interfering with the timeline. What if this child grows up to be a mass murderer instead of dying like he did in your future.”

“Gideon?” Leonard drawled.

“I have fully scanned the infant. My data confirms that he is inconsequential to the timeline. He is suffering from mild hypothermia after his exposure to the elements. I recommend warm clothes and loose swaddling, human contact, and regular feeding. I have mixed a formula to provide optimal nutrition and provided fresh clothes and a blanket. Within 36 hours, he will be fit to return to the current timeline in good health.”

Rip sighed. “Fine. We need to act on the information you gathered earlier. We’ll be infiltrating Offutt Air Base in a couple of hours.

“Fantastic. Where do you need us?” Leonard said, tone suggesting that he was being only half sarcastic. He didn’t want to be stuck on babysitting duty. Kendra or Jax might be better suited, though he wasn’t sure he would trust Jax with such a young child.

“You two are already known to Savage’s men, you’ll be staying on the Waverider. Babysitting.” They glared at him in shock and outrage. “You brought him on board; you’ll take care of him until he’s off the ship.” Then he turned on his heal and left the med bay.

Sara looked over at him. “You raised your sister, right? You can take care of him.”

“Me? You should take care of him –”

“If you say because I’m a woman, I will break off something vital.”

He snapped his mouth shut, then gathered himself to speak again. No matter how terrifying her threats were, he kind of enjoyed them. “No, I was going to say because you picked him up. Clearly, you have better instincts about children than I do. I just stood there.”

“Not leaving him on the ground is where it ends.” Her eyes were wide. “I don’t know the first thing about babies! Kids, maybe a little, but what do I do with him?” She gestured at the infant gurgling in his dingy blankets.

“You have friends, normal friends, sort of,” Leonard said, shrugging. “Someone has to have a kid.”

Sara looked away. “John and Lyla have a little girl.” Leonard knew not to interrupt. They’d traded ‘war stories’ enough by this point that he could tell she would shut down at the slightest provocation. “But I didn’t really get to spend time with her after I…came back. And I didn’t want to. Didn’t trust myself.”

“What about before?” His voice was cautious. Not gentle. He’d never call it gentle, but it was almost the way you would talk to a scared dog or spooked horse.

She shook her head. “She was born after I died.” Her lips twitched into a wry smile for just a moment. “They named her Sara, after me. Their dead teammate.”

“I guess we’ll both have to take care of him then. Pool our dismal babysitting skills.” He quirked a smile at her. “Maybe Gideon can help us.”

“I would be glad to, Mr. Snart,” Gideon said in much too chirrupy a voice for a robot, and began instructing them how to go about dressing and wrapping the baby in the warm clothes she had provided.

  

* * *

 

After a silent battle of wills, Leonard took the baby while Sara went to change out of her leathers. He tried to remember how his mother had taught him to hold Lisa when she was this young, but it had been decades and he was sorely out of practice. He ended up asking Gideon for help, glad that no one was around.

“No, Mr. Snart. You must support his head. He is approximately 3 months old and his muscles are not yet strong enough.” Leonard moved his hands around, frustrated that it had seemed easier in his memory when his hands were still so small. They were big enough now that he was sure he could hold the baby’s whole head in just one hand. “I recommend cradling the head in your elbow,” Gideon offered. “It provides a natural and comfortable resting place.” She was starting to get sassy with him these days.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m working on it.” He maneuvered the baby to rest along his arm, finding that it was as comfortable as it could be. Though the little guy was heavier and warmer than he’d expected. It was good he’d taken off his parka.

Leonard looked down at the infant, watching his face. Big, grey eyes blinked up at him out of an impassive face. He wasn’t sure what that meant in ‘baby’, but it was better than him screaming. He was just leaving the med bay when Sara turned the corner. She looked at him with wide eyes, flicking down to the baby, and then back to his face.

“Oh –”

“Not a word, assassin.”

She smirked. “You look sweet.” He glared at her. “We should figure out something to call him. I feel like we shouldn’t just keep calling him ‘the baby’, you know?”

“Gideon, you said he wasn’t important to the timeline. Do you know who he is?”

“According to my database, his name is Robert.”

“He doesn’t look like a Robert to me,” Sara said, stepping closer and letting him grab onto her finger. “Maybe Robbie.” Leonard nodded. “We should head over to Rip’s office. Just in case something happens, we should know their plan.” She led the way and Leonard followed easily. He was trying to figure out some sort of easy gait that didn’t jostle Robbie, but kept him happy. Gideon had recommended bouncing him gently if he got fussy, but Len wasn’t sure he knew what exactly that meant. Babies were really not his thing.

Rip turned to them when they entered the room. “Nice of you to join us.” Leonard half-rolled his eyes and lowered himself carefully onto the tall chair he often used. Sara leaned her hip against the table beside him.

Kendra was the first to make an excited noise. “Oh, he’s so sweet.” She walked over, ignoring Rip’s huff of irritation that his briefing had been derailed by the arrival of a cute baby.

“His name is Robbie,” Sara supplied. Kendra was happy to coo over him for a moment, and Jax came over to see him, too. Ray looked like a floppy eared puppy with a bone, sitting across from them with a stupid grin on his face. Even Stein was smiling at them.

“Can we get back to the briefing?” Rip asked after what he deemed an acceptable amount of time.

“For once, I agree,” Leonard added.

Kendra ran her finger over his velvet soft cheek and turned back to her seat. “Later Robbie,” Jax said in a soft voice. Leonard cocked an eyebrow. Who knew the kid would actually be good with babies?

They sat through Rip’s briefing, glad to know the plan so if anything went wrong they could at least go pick them up, or save them, or something. But by the end Robbie was getting a bit fussy. Len tried rubbing his hand in circles over his back, but he continued to fuss.

“Maybe he’s hungry,” Sara offered. “Gideon, can you make a bottle for Robbie?”

“It will be waiting in the kitchen, Ms. Lance.”

“I’ll go get it,” she said, dropping a hand on Leonard’s shoulder for a moment as she pushed away from the table. He tried bouncing Robbie like Gideon had suggested, but he didn’t think he was doing it right because the baby only started to fuss more. He went back to rubbing his back instead. When Sara returned with the bottle, Leonard was unconsciously making little shushing noises.

Rip was trying to ignore the baby and the whole situation, but he knew the rest of the team’s attention was wandering. And he would admit that it was weird to see the resident crook and assassin with a baby, but they still had a job to do.

“I’ll feed him if you do the next diaper change,” Leonard offered when Sara walked over with the bottle.

She looked down at the general area of the baby’s diaper, frowned and handed over the bottle. “This time.” He gave a curt nod and attempted to give Robbie his bottle. Luckily, the little guy had an instinct that this was food and latched on, sucking greedily. Sara leaned against the table beside him, bracing her arms on the worktop. His shoulders brushed against her arm where it stretched behind him. He didn’t want to lean closer, especially not with everyone around, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

After a moment of nothing but quiet eating from Robbie, Rip managed to regain control of his briefing. Even if the other members of the team still shot occasional glances toward them and the baby. Kendra’s were the easiest to read. Sara wanted to scowl, but she couldn’t fault her friend for finding it cute. Even _she_ thought Leonard feeding little Robbie was cute.

When Rip dismissed the meeting, Kendra walked over to say goodbye to Robbie before they left. “Have fun babysitting, you two,” she said with a smirk. Sometimes, Sara didn’t like her friend’s overly intuitive nature. They were watching a mystery baby, not playing house. No matter how much it felt like it at the moment.

They stayed where they were for long minutes after the team had left without them. Robbie still drinking from his bottle, a look of supreme contentment on his little face. After a time, he stopped and tried to pull his face away. Leonard set the bottle on the table and looked up at her.

“Am I supposed to do something now?” He hadn’t done this with his little sister. She furrowed her brow. “Gideon?”

“The baby should be burped against your shoulder, either by gently patting or rubbing the back. A cloth is recommended as he may spit up some formula during burping.”

“I don’t do puke,” Leonard said immediately, making to hand Robbie to Sara.

“This is part of feeding him, I’ll do it next time.” He frowned. “Here, Gideon gave me a cloth with the bottle.” She took the small blanket and laid it carefully across Len’s shoulder. This, at least, she’d seen done once or twice, even if she’d never done it. Gently, he rested Robbie against his shoulder and started to tap lightly on his back, rubbing in a circle every couple of pats. It was strange. Then Robbie burped, louder than Leonard expected and Sara cheered. “No spit up.”

“Great. Here, can you take him? My arm is getting a cramp.”

Sara took Robbie, holding him in the same way that Leonard had. She’d done it instinctively earlier, because it felt like the only thing to do for a cold baby, but now she felt unsure. Was she supporting his head right? And he was heavier than she’d expected, too. Leonard smiled over at her and she tried to relax.

After a little while, they agreed to go somewhere more comfortable since they were going to be watching Robbie for quite a while. They decided on Leonard’s room, despite his lack of enthusiasm about it, because Sara’s had far more pointy objects than they wanted around the baby, even if he couldn’t walk or crawl yet. Babies were crafty.

After Leonard changed into sweats, they arranged themselves on his bed, Sara trying to do so without jostling Robbie too much. His little eyelids drooped and sprang back open a few times.

“Where is he going to sleep?” Leonard asked. “We can’t put him in my bed.”

“We could clear out a dresser drawer and pad it with blankets.” He sent her a mild glare out of the corner of his eye.

“I can produce a portable cradle suitable for an infant of his age,” Gideon offered from nowhere. It was really unnerving when she did that.

“Then do it,” Len said.

“And maybe some diapers and stuff too,” Sara added, knowing the time was drawing nearer.

“I will have them in the fabrication room in approximately three minutes.”

Sara looked at him, widening her eyes and holding Robbie a little closer. “Fine, I’ll go.” She smiled. It was so easy sometimes.

He came back five minutes later with a diaper bag over one shoulder and what looked like a futuristic bassinet without a stand. He set the cradle and bag on the floor by the foot of the bed and climbed back to sit beside Sara.

“Want to watch a movie?” he asked after a long moment watching the baby.

“I’m hoping he falls asleep.”

“So we’ll have Gideon keep the volume down.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Gideon, can you play Ocean’s Eleven? The original.” She smiled. “Keep the volume down so Robbie can sleep.”

“Of course, Mr. Snart.”

It wasn’t the first time they’d hung out and watched movies. She’d come in one night after he’d left Mick behind and sat on his bed, refusing to leave. She’d instructed Gideon to play the original Italian Job and had made herself at home. The next time, she’d brought popcorn and they’d watched the Bourne Identity. He’d stopped trying to stop her after that night, and since then he’d actually started initiating movie nights. It was strange being alone in his room now that Mick was gone. Sara brought a light with her and he wasn’t strong enough to tell her to leave him alone before he darkened her world even more.

She leaned into his side, resting the arm that held Robbie’s head on his thigh to keep it from getting tired. It should have been weird, especially with how he was beginning to feel about her, but it wasn’t. It was just them, getting comfortable and watching a movie like any other day.

About twenty minutes in, Robbie started to fuss. Sara started to unwrap his blanket to check his diaper. She took a tentative sniff and immediately moved him away from her, scrunching her nose in a way that Leonard would never tell her was adorable. He valued his life. She dug through the diaper bag with one hand, pulling out a padded blanket, a diaper, and some wipes. At least this part seemed fairly self-explanatory. And the diaper was labeled so anyone could figure out how to put it on. Idiot proof. He watched her work through more wipes than was probably necessary and manage to fasten his diaper and clothes without incident. Sara gave a little cry of triumph. Leonard golf clapped, even though it earned him an eye-roll.

She felt his skin and it was still clammy and cool to the touch, so she wrapped him back in his blanket. She settled herself in the same position on the bed, Leonard wrapping his arm around her this time. Her head fell against his shoulder and they fell silent as the movie played. Leonard glanced down at the baby in her arms. He was beginning to nod off, but his blue-grey eyes blinked open every now and then. He had a dusting of brown hair across the top of his head, only a little lighter in color than Leonard’s own, and his otherwise pristine baby skin was marked with a handful of tiny freckles. Leonard glanced at Sara out of the corner of his eye. They looked disturbingly like a little family. If he didn’t know any better, he could believe Robbie was theirs.

“I think he’s asleep,” Leonard whispered about half an hour later. Sara blinked down at him and nodded, moving her stiff arms to slip him into the bassinet. A green light on top lit up and she felt the mattress start to warm slightly as Gideon heated the cradle to the optimal temperature for Robbie to sleep and to assist in raising his core temperature, which was still lower than it should be.

Sara climbed back onto the bed and settled back in the same position, tucked into Leonard’s side. It was getting late, the team was going to be out most of the night, probably, and she was starting to get sleepy. She yawned against his shoulder.

“You should take Robbie back to your room tonight.”

“No,” she mumbled into his sweater. “I’ll just stay here. If I have to get up when he cries, so do you.”

He sighed. “Fine.” It wasn’t the first time she’d stayed over. She had after their first movie night, despite his loud protests that he did not need another roommate. She hadn’t taken Mick’s bunk, which was still pulled out above Len’s because he was used to prison bunks. They made him feel oddly comfortable. She’d pulled out the third sleeping pod from the opposite wall and steadfastly refused to leave. He wouldn’t admit it, but he had slept better with her there. So when she’d insisted on staying after they finished watching the first Lord of the Rings, he’d just shrugged.

The others probably thought they were sleeping together and just really bad at hiding it. But to Leonard it was more like a long, platonic courtship. He had never really been a relationship person, had only really invited physical contact when he wanted it, and rarely invited anything resembling feelings or romance. It wasn’t that Sara was different from the others in some way, but she was. Talking about emotions wasn’t really her thing either, and she had admitted more than once that she had a harder time with contact and feelings since being resurrected. They’d talked briefly about the nurse from 1958, Lindsey, during one movie night.

He understood, somewhat. Some guys he knew from prison couldn’t wait to get out, go home with the first girl they could find. Leonard had never wanted that. He avoided contact with people generally, and definitely sexually, for a while after he got out. He wanted to get out of the prison mindset first, get control of his own life before he had to deal with other people. He’d told her as much that night and she had hummed thoughtfully, not moving from her spot pressed against his side.

He’d never really had a friend who understood him like her. He and Mick got on just fine, but Mick wasn’t an introspective person, and never had been. He liked to burn shit, and he really didn’t give a damn why he did. There was a kind of certainty in that. Mick’s motives had usually been simple, predictable, but his understanding of Snart’s own choices had always been simple, too. That was part of the problem that led to their current…situation. Sara, on the other hand, had been to the dark side and back more than once, she’d been broken, dead, a hero, an anti-hero, an assassin, a vigilante. She could understand his changing motives, even when he refused to talk about them, which was most of the time. She just smiled and told Gideon to put on a movie.

“Sara, if you’re this tired, you should go to bed.”

“Staying here.”

He sighed. “I know. I meant the other bed.”

She shook her head into his shoulder. Using her strength and leverage, she pushed him over until he was lying down. He didn’t really resist, but more because he wasn’t expecting it. He blinked up at her. She curled around his side, laying her head on his chest and hand over his heart. He sighed again. Sara was strong and stubborn and there was no way he could detach her without waking the baby. He kicked off his shoes – Sara was already barefoot – and pulled the blanket up.

“I’ll go to my bed after Robbie wakes up.”

“Whatever.”

  

* * *

  

Robbie woke up a couple of hours later, screaming. Gideon had already started the bassinet’s rocking feature to calm him, but he wasn’t having it. Sara groaned from somewhere around Len’s collarbone 

“How do people do this?”

“They don’t sleep for at least a year.” He waited to see if Sara was going to get up. “He’s probably hungry.”

“I know. I’m trying to get my eyes to cooperate.” She blinked up at him and then slowly sat up, trying not to blush at the position she’d put them in. “Gideon, can you get a bottle for him?”

“It’s ready, Ms. Lance.” The door to the mini-replicator in the room slid up. It only made drinks as far as Sara knew, but apparently that included baby formula.

She crawled out of bed and went to take the bottle. Len sat up in bed, making room for her to sit beside him. She held Robbie carefully and encouraged him to take the bottle. Once he realized it was his food, he stopped crying and ate. Sara leaned back against Len, closing her eyes.

“You know how people say if you don’t want your daughter to get pregnant, make her babysit?” He nodded, and she felt the movement. “I see exactly what they mean now.” He chuckled and it vibrated against her back. Having her sleep interrupted wasn’t great, but this was kind of nice, just sitting in the dim light together while the baby drank his fill. After Robbie finished, Sara burped him and tried to put him back to bed, but the second his back hit the cradle, he started crying again. She rocked him for a few minutes, humming some tuneless lullaby, and tried again. Same reaction.

“I recommend physical contact,” Gideon offered. “My scans indicate the infant has received sub-optimal levels of touch.” Sara and Leonard looked at each other over Robbie’s head. “He may calm more quickly with the sound of a heartbeat.”

“Fine,” Leonard said, tugging his sweater over his head and leaving him in his thin undershirt. Sara had seen his forearms and lower biceps, peppered with a few small scars, but a t-shirt was about as undressed as he ever was. He gently took the baby from her and held him to his chest as he leaned back against the wall. This was almost like burping him. Robbie’s red, whimpering face was tucked under Len’s chin, and his heartbeat fluttered against Leonard’s own. He started to calm, not completely, but enough. Sara leaned against him, one hand following his arm up until it rested on Robbie’s back. Leonard dropped his head to rest on hers and they listened to Robbie’s complaints peter out until he fell asleep

After he was sure Robbie wasn’t going to wake up, Leonard slowly stood and placed him in the cradle. Then he climbed back into bed and tugged Sara down as well.

“Just stay here, I’m tired.” She didn’t argue, just settling down beside him and resting her head on his chest again.

“I think Robbie and I agree that you’re a very comfortable pillow.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm a little tighter around her back.

 

* * *

  

Robbie went back to sleep more readily a few hours later, when Leonard got up to change his wet diaper. Sara rolled over and watched him from the bed with sleepy eyes, but she didn’t go back to sleep until he climbed back in beside her. It was nice, the camaraderie they had these days.

 

* * *

 

When Sara and Leonard got up the next morning, Gideon informed them in an annoyingly bright voice that the rest of the team was back and eating breakfast in the kitchen. She also let them know that she had prepared a bottle for Robbie and it was waiting for them. Sara groaned and buried her face in Leonard’s chest. He chuckled, but it sounded groggy like he hadn’t slept any better than she had.

Robbie was half awake in his cradle when they got up, and Leonard decided it was easier to just carry the whole thing to the kitchen, rather than risk him screaming and crying because they’d woken him up before he was ready. They both slipped on their shoes, Leonard pulled on a sweater, and they headed for the kitchen, really not caring that they probably looked beyond rumpled. Sara was still yawning when they walked into the room.

Everyone turned to look.

“Good morning,” Stein said, breaking the silence. “You look as though you’ve barely slept.”

“No shit,” Leonard muttered, moving to the end of the table and putting Robbie’s cradle on the seat beside him.

“You try taking care of a baby all night.” Sara pulled the bottle out of the replicator and handed it to Leonard. “It’s your turn.” He nodded and took the bottle while she turned back to input their breakfast on the command screen.

“I can make you guys coffee,” Kendra offered. She looked somehow both delighted and sympathetic. She was having far too much fun watching them babysit in Sara’s opinion, but she would not say no to her friend making them coffee. Somehow, even though Gideon could easily make any drink they wanted, Kendra made the best coffee on the ship. It might have been because she’d been a barista, but she genuinely liked doing things for her friends.

“That would be amazing,” Sara said, leaning against the wall beside the replicator and closing her eyes. Kendra smiled and got up from her seat, going to the espresso machine to start making their drinks. Sara stayed where she was, waiting for the replicator to finish. Leonard hadn’t started feeding Robbie yet, hoping to at least get some caffeine and maybe some food before the baby started crying. The replicator dinged softly and the door rolled up. Sara picked up her usual omelet and Leonard’s eggs, bacon, and toast, carrying them over to the table. He looked up at he and smiled a tired but grateful smile.

They were both digging in when Kendra walked over with two steaming mugs. “Cappuccino for Sara, and a Flash for Leonard.” He glared at her, but it wasn’t very threatening on his tired face. She flashed them both a bright smile. She was too much of a morning person for Sara, but she was a really good person, so Sara could forgive her for that.

They got halfway through their breakfast and coffee before Robbie decided he was awake and wanted to be fed RIGHT NOW! Leonard sighed, pushing his food slightly away and picking up the baby. He cradled him as before and offered the bottle. It took Robbie a little longer to realize he was being given exactly what he wanted, but eventually he latched on and was happy.

“Are you trading off feeding him and changing the diapers?” Ray asked from across the table. He held a cup of coffee in one hand and flipped through one of Rip’s holo-newspapers with the other.

“Yes,” Leonard replied. “Sara fed him last night.”

“I will be happy when he can go back to 1951, so I can sleep for a week,” Sara said, drinking deeply from her coffee.

“It’s only been one day. It can’t be that bad,” Ray said.

“All babies do is cry Raymond, with occasional sleeping,” Leonard answered, looking down at the baby in his arms.

“Couldn’t one of you sleep while the other got up with the baby?” Rip asked from the end of the table, finally joining in on breakfast conversation.

“If one of us gets up when he cries, both of us get up,” Len said, glancing over at Sara, who nodded her agreement.

There was a pause. “How marvelous, co-babysitting as team building,” Stein said. Kendra smiled widely at them and Sara could see the cogs turning in her head.

“So you guys shared a room?” Jax asked. There was something a little unnerving about the crook and the assassin buddying up, or possibly hooking up if Kendra was right, even though they’d been probably the easiest friends from the very beginning.

Sara shrugged, then turned to Len. “I’ll burp him so you can finish your breakfast before it gets cold.” He nodded and a few moments later, Robbie tried to pull away from the bottle. Sara slung the cloth over her shoulder and took him from Leonard. He went back to his breakfast, noticing for the first time that their teammates had been watching them interact with the baby and each other.

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you finished with your mission then, since you’re all just sitting around.”

Ray and Jax at least had the decency to look abashed. Stein was the only one to answer, though. “We need to return the documents we borrowed to their proper location after Gideon has finished analyzing them. We intend to visit the base and return this afternoon.”

“Gideon?” Rip began.

“Yes, Captain?”

“When will the baby be able to return to his own time?”

“Robbie will be healthy enough to be taken to an orphanage or children’s home at approximately 2pm local time, if he continues to progress at the present rate. Ms. Lance and Mr. Snart have accelerated his healing through their care.”

“Nice job, you guys!” Jax said.

“Oh, that’s so great!” Kendra added. “So they really know what they’re doing, Gideon?”

“On the contrary, Ms. Saunders. Neither Ms. Lance nor Mr. Snart have ever cared for an infant this young.”

“So they’re just instinctively good parents?” Ray asked.

“I provided assistance, but it is possible they have latent parental instincts. I will do more research.”

“Gideon, you will not research our parental skills, separately or otherwise. Got it?”

He got the distinct impression that the AI wanted to sigh in disappointment. “As you wish, Mr. Snart.”

“Aw, she likes you,” Sara said, leaning over to tease him. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. “Have you never seen The Princess Bride?” He shook his head. “Next movie night,” she promised with a playful smile.

“You guys have movie nights?” Jax asked in a slightly offended tone.

“Invite only, kid,” Leonard said, which was kind of a lie. They shared an amused look over Robbie’s head. The baby had burped already, but he was gurgling happy against her shoulder, so Sara hadn’t moved him yet.

“Gideon, please look up a place Mr. Snart and Ms. Lance can drop off the baby this afternoon.”

She hummed for a moment. “I’ve found a suitable orphanage in the northern part of the city.”

“Good, I suggest you leave him there while we are at the base this afternoon,” Rip said, getting up from the table.

Sara scoffed. “He acts like we want to keep doing this every day.”

“You did bring him on board,” Ray offered.

“Because he would have died if we hadn’t,” Leonard replied, fixing Ray with a glare.

“Well, I’d be happy to watch him for a while if you guys want to get some more sleep,” Kendra offered “I do have experience in my past lives.”

“Actually,” Sara said, “maybe you could help us dress him. The diaper he was wearing yesterday was really confusing. Not like the idiot proof diapers Gideon made for us.”

Kendra laughed and nodded. “Sure, I’ll help you before we leave.”

  

* * *

  

After lunch, Kendra met Sara and Leonard in the fabrication room. He was in the back changing into a shirt and trousers while Sara entertained Robbie. Her outfit hung on the rack beside the console and the baby’s clothes were folded on the stool nearby. Kendra hovered in the open door for a moment, just watching. Sara was better with the baby than she thought, and secretly she thought Ray might be right about them just being good parents.

Leonard came out of the changing cubicle, looking very dapper and respectable in his trousers and sport coat. He did a little spin, smirking, and Sara wolf whistled. Kendra hid her wide smile with her hand. She waited a beat for the moment to settle and knocked on the doorframe. They both looked up at her and she came in.

“Hi Robbie,” she cooed. He gurgled up at her. She turned to pick up the diaper off the stack of clothes. “Good old pre-folds.” Sara raised an eyebrow. “Cloth diapers, don’t worry about it.”

“Ms. Saunders, would you like me to bring up a diagram?” Gideon asked politely.

“I think I remember how to do this, but a diagram would be great. Thanks Gideon.”

“You’re welcome,” Gideon replied, bringing up a diagram of how to put on this exact type of cloth diaper. It was very detailed.

Kendra smiled and talked to Robbie the whole way through, and he more or less sat still throughout, though he flicked his eyes over to look at Sara a few times. She watched what Kendra was doing very carefully. Not that she thought she’d ever have to use a cloth diaper from the 50s ever again, but she was curious. Kendra finished fairly quickly, even tickling Robbie’s belly when she was done.

“I’ll get him dressed, you go change,” Leonard offered and Sara nodded, grabbing her clothes and shoes from the rack. Kendra didn’t help him dress Robbie, content to watch how the ostensibly coldest member of the team interacted with the baby. It was sweet, but she tried not to be too obvious. The only person he seemed to tolerate that kind of talk from was Sara.

Several minutes later, Sara came out of the changing stall in thick stockings, a knee length wool skirt, and a blouse. Her cardigan and coat still hung on the rack beside Leonard’s coat.

“Do you guys have a cover story?”

“Couple who found a baby on their doorstep,” Sara replied, walking over and slipping on her cardigan 

She opened her mouth to speak, but Ray poked his head through the door. “Kendra, we’re about to leave.” She nodded and waved to them, following Ray out.

 

* * *

  

Leonard carried Robbie as they walked into town because his coat was bigger and warmer. They knew they couldn’t take the jump ship to get to the orphanage since the others had taken it to the base, but they couldn’t agree on how to get there.

“Last I checked, you weren’t this uptight, assassin.”

“I just don’t think we should steal a car. They were expensive in 1951.”

“So we’ll bring it back when we’re done. You know it’s the best move.”

She huffed. “Fine.”

When they reached town, she took Robbie and Leonard had a look at his options. No alarms of course, the past was great that way. He tried a door handle. It wasn’t even locked. He opened the passenger door from the inside and Sara slid in. He opened the glove compartment and found a spare key. This was the easiest car he’d ever stolen.

Gideon had given them directions to the orphanage and Leonard drove them there without a single wrong turn. He drove carefully because Robbie was just sitting on Sara’s lap. He didn’t want anything to happen to him, especially after they’d spent so much time and energy getting him healthy. The orphanage loomed ahead of them. It felt wrong somehow to leave him here. He glanced at Sara out of the corner of his eye. A frown pulled at her mouth and she held Robbie close.

“It’s the right thing for him,” she said, reading his mind with her ninja skills. “He’ll be better off.” She nodded.

“He will,” Leonard assured her, though he had the same exact fears. “Besides, do you really want to give up sleep for the next year, at least?”

She made a face. “You’re right. And the Waverider is no place for a baby.” She looked down at Robbie again. Maybe at another point in her life she could imagine this, a baby of her own. It was the first time she could picture that since before the Gambit sank. Leonard took one hand from the steering wheel and dropped it onto her knee.

When they arrived at the orphanage, Leonard helped her out of the car and then headed up the front stairs to ring the bell. A kindly older woman opened the door a few moments later. She looked up at them with a puzzled expression.

“Can I help you dearies?"

“Yes, ma’am,” Sara replied.

“We found this baby on our doorstep, and we thought it best to bring him here,” Leonard continued. “This note was left with him.” He handed over a piece of paper that Gideon had made for them. It explained that the his name was Robert and the mother was giving him up because she was unwed and couldn’t support a child.

“It goes on to say that she thought we might be good parents because we’re newlyweds,” Sara explained. The woman glanced down at the wedding bands Gideon had provided for their cover.

“But we aren’t quite ready for children. I’d like to take my wife traveling and go back to visit her family across the country before we start our family.” He wrapped his arm around Sara’s shoulders.

At this, the woman seemed to buy their story and waved them inside. “There is a little bit of paperwork. Please come in and we can place Robert in our nursery. My name is Dorothea.” Leonard and Sara introduced themselves and followed her inside.

In order to drop Robbie off as an abandoned baby, they had to write out their full names, write the address where they found him, wait while Dorothea copied the text of the note onto the form, and sign in three places. They also had to sign an affirmation of their relation to the child, which was none. By the time all was said and done, their names were all over this small, insignificant part of history. They didn’t say goodbye to Robbie, just thanked Dorothea and left in their stolen car.

Neither of them spoke on the drive back to the spot they taken the car from. Leonard drove carefully and precisely, and Sara stared out the window. After they parked the car exactly where it had been before, they started the walk back to the ship.

“I know it was right,” Sara said, sounding surer this time, “but it’s kind of sad to see him go.” Leonard nodded, even though he wasn’t sure she could see him. He looked straight ahead, not wanting to see her sad eyes. After a moment of silent walking, Len reached out and took Sara’s hand. She wrapped her fingers around his immediately, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. They walked silently, hand in hand, all the way back to the Waverider. Gideon informed them that the rest of the team was still away. Leonard thanked her in a dull voice and walked Sara to her bedroom door. He squeezed her hand once and turned to go to his own room. Sara spent her afternoon in the training room, beating up a sparring dummy. Leonard spent the time in his room taking apart his cold gun and putting it back together, punctuated by rearranging things on his dresser and side table.

They ate dinner with the team, only half-listening to their stories about their latest mission, and not really talking. Other than Ray, who was still disturbingly chirpy, everyone seemed pretty beat and was ready to turn in early.

Leonard was sitting on his bed in his sweats, staring at the wall and contemplating asking Gideon to put on a movie, when someone knocked on his door. It had to be Sara. He told the AI to open the door. Sure enough, Sara stood on the other side, dressed for bed as well. She came inside and closed the door behind her, kicking off her slippers beside his boots.

Sara crossed the room and shoved Leonard’s shoulders, encouraging him to lie back on the bed. She crawled in on top of him. He pulled up the blanket and covered them both as she got comfortable with her head on his chest and hand on his heart. He didn’t say anything, didn’t question it, like they did this all the time and not just last night when they were taking care of a baby. She snuggled into his warm chest and tucked her cold feet between his legs.

“I kind of miss him,” she said after a while.

“So do I,” he replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Sleep. It’s supposed to be better in the morning.”

“You think it will be?”

“Probably not.” He wrapped his arm more fully around her back. “But we can talk about it then.”

“Okay.” She closed her eyes and Len told Gideon to turn out the lights. A couple of minutes later, she spoke partially into his shirt. “Len, is this going to end once we stop thinking about him?”

He considered playing dumb to avoid the conversation, but he knew she’d see right through him. “Do you want it to?”

She shook her head against his chest. “No, I like—this.”

“You’re welcome here anytime, Sara. For any reason. Now go to sleep.” He swore he could feel her smiling into his shirt right up until he fell asleep.


End file.
